Paul Broussard's Reviews
Lost Judgment has, perhaps fittingly, somewhat lost itself. It’s focused so much on cleaning up the gameplay that it forgot what really gave Yakuza its appeal to begin with; the charm and soul of the writing, setting, and characters.
There are very few original ideas on display in Project_Hel, outside of the new meter management system, and too many poor decisions that undermine the core ideas of the original, so it fails to reach the highs of the base game.
The combat, when it’s clicking, is genuinely fantastic for a more action-driven horror title. But much of what is built around that combat lets it down: the pacing and atmosphere are largely non-existent; the level design, UI, and checkpoint system are very player-unfriendly; and there just aren’t enough set pieces and gameplay diversions to prevent the combat from getting somewhat repetitive by the game’s end.
The best way I think I can describe The Bunker is that it is an exceptional proof of concept. There's immense potential here, and the first couple of hours or so are genuinely great horror, but the game doesn't have enough tricks up its sleeve to maintain momentum.
Yes, the Payday magic is still here… sort of.
If you don’t already like hack and slash titles, and the Darksiders series specifically, this third installment certainly won’t make you a fan.
This is very much Devil May Cry 1, 2, and 3, with pretty much all the good and bad that came with the original titles.
I would be remiss in not recommending The Spectrum Retreat if you’re a fan of Portal-esque puzzle solving.
For a trilogy that’s been ported so often, very little has been done to address the niggles that do exist, and that’s a shame.
Not showing up anybody.
The first episode of Song of Horror is a genuinely unnerving experience, but ultimately fails to really find its footing as a game.
The spark and creativity that made the original Gamecube title something of a cult classic is here somewhere, but it has been buried underneath an increasingly large pile of gameplay annoyances and mechanics that add options without depth.
Returning players will still find the fun game they knew back from 2013, but don’t expect to have any of the problems you had back then addressed now.
Ver 1.22 had the chance to take a cult classic and make it one of the best games in recent memory, but instead I'm left wondering what could have been; just like eleven years ago.
The Salt games are in an awkward spot now, having mish-mashed several wildly successful ideas from other titles, but being unable to make them fit together into an identity of their own. Hopefully, if we get a third entry, Ska Studios will be able to make it all coalesce.
The moment-to-moment combat is pretty fun, and the enemy variety is solid, but the lack of weapon swapping and the same old arena do hamper the experience.
I certainly respect the desire to create something different and the courage to tell a story with challenging themes, but I don’t feel like the game's components ever quite mesh and work together well.
I appreciate System Shock for laying the groundwork for future immersive titles, but it definitely feels dated now, and the few changes made in the remake are a mixed bag that don’t do enough to fix its problems, while also adding new ones of their own.
Lies of P goes from imitating From Software’s concept to tearing off its skin and wearing it around like a poncho.
It likely won’t win any awards, but if you’re in the mood for a competent movement shooter and don’t feel like replaying Titanfall 2’s campaign for the 30th time, this is an acceptable choice.